The 2022 NHL Draft Lottery will set the order for the first 16 picks of the 2022 Upper Deck NHL Draft when it is held at NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey, on Tuesday (6:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, SN NOW, TVAS).
2022 NHL Draft Lottery to determine No. 1, No. 2 picks
Canadiens have best odds of winning top selection; Blue Jackets, Sabres could have two picks in top 16
The 2022 draft is scheduled to be held at Bell Centre in Montreal. The first round will be held July 7, with rounds 2-7 on July 8.
There will be two lottery drawings, one for the No. 1 pick and one for the No. 2 pick. Once the top two picks have been established, clubs will be slotted in the order of their finish in the regular-season standings.
Additionally, teams only can move up 10 selections if it wins one of the lottery draws, a change announced by the NHL on March 23, 2021. Only the top 11 teams in lottery are eligible to receive the No. 1 selection in the 2022 draft.
The Montreal Canadiens, who finished last in the regular-season standings, hold the best odds (18.5 percent) of winning the lottery. The Arizona Coyotes have the second-best odds (13.5 percent). The Seattle Kraken, who began play this season, have the third-best odds (11.5 percent), followed by the Philadelphia Flyers (9.5 percent) and the New Jersey Devils (8.5 percent), who finished with the fifth-worst record in the regular season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets have their pick and the Chicago Blackhawks' selection, acquired as part of the trade for defenseman Seth Jones on July 23. However, if the Blackhawks' choice is one of the top two selections, Chicago would keep it and send Columbus their first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft.
The Buffalo Sabres also could have two picks in the top 16. They acquired the Vegas Golden Knights' first pick as part of the Jack Eichel trade on Nov. 4. However, if the Golden Knights' pick is in the top 10, they would keep it and send the Sabres their first-round pick in the 2023 draft.
The Sabres, who finished with the worst record in the NHL last season, won the lottery and selected defenseman Owen Power with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft.
It was the first time since the Sabres in 2018 that the team that finished last in the standings won the lottery.
Shane Wright, a center with Kingston of the Ontario Hockey League, is No. 1 in
NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of North American skaters
. Juraj Slafkovsky, a left wing from TPS in Liiga, Finland's top professional men's league, is No. 1 in Central Scouting's final ranking of International skaters.
"The outlook for the 2022 draft is that there is a strong core of prospects with NHL skills and assets, particularly at center and defense," Director of NHL Central Scouting Dan Marr said. "Our evaluations indicate that there are a high number of talented prospects with exceptional speed and smarts. What will be unique with this draft class is that it looks like the 2004-born will be the year of a smaller-size draft class; there just aren't an abundance of big players."
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Wright (6-foot, 191 pounds) could become the first player from Kingston chosen No. 1 in the NHL Draft. The highest a player from Kingston has been chosen is No. 3, in 1993 (forward Chris Gratton, Tampa Bay Lightning) and 2010 (defenseman Erik Gudbranson, Florida Panthers).
"There is a completeness about Shane's game to which he has the innate ability to rise to the level of play required to get results," Marr said. "Whether it's with his speed, his exceptionally quick hockey wits or just competing with a never give up approach."
The 18-year-old finished eighth in the Ontario Hockey League with 94 points (32 goals, 62 assists) in 63 games, scored 28 power-play points (eight goals, 20 assists) and won 49.9 percent of his face-offs while taking the fourth-most in the league (1,355). In eight OHL playoff games, Wright has scored 10 points (two goals, eight assists).
Center Logan Cooley (5-10, 174) of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program Under-18 Team is No. 2 among the North Americans. The 18-year-old was second on the NTDP with 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) in 51 games. He scored 10 points (three goals, seven assists) and had 23 shots on goal in six games to help the United States finish second at the 2022 IIHF World Under-18 Championship.
Rounding out the top five North American skaters are left wing Cutter Gauthier of the NTDP, and centers Matthew Savoie and Conor Geekie of Winnipeg in the Western Hockey League.
Slafkovsky (6-4, 218) was the youngest player men's ice hockey player at the 2022 Beijing Olympics was named the tournament's most valuable player after he led all skaters with seven goals and tied three others for the tournament lead with seven points as he helped Slovakia win the bronze medal.
The 18-year-old scored 10 points (five goals, five assists) and averaged 14:11 of ice time in 31 regular-season games with TPS, and scored seven points (two goals, five assists) while averaging 15:28 of ice time in 18 Liiga playoff games.
"Juraj uses his great size, reach and strength inside the rules," NHL director of European Scouting Goran Stubb said. "He's an effective checker both in the offensive and defensive zone and is surprisingly a mobile and fast skater for a player his size. He'll likely represent Slovakia at the 2022 IIHF World Championship in Finland (May 13-29)."
NHL to conduct its draft lottery Tuesday, May 10
Right wing Joakim Kemell (5-11, 171) of JYP in Liiga is No. 2 in the final ranking of International skaters after being No. 1 in the midterm ranking in January. The 18-year-old scored 23 points (15 goals, eight assists) in 39 games with JYP and eight points (six goals, two assists) in five games for third place Finland at the World U-18s.
Rounding out the top five among International skaters are defenseman Simon Nemec (6-0, 190) of Nitra in Tipos Extraliga, the top league in Slovakia; defenseman David Jiricek (6-3, 189) of Plzen in the Czech Extraliga, the top division in the Czech Republic; and center Marco Kasper (6-1, 183) of Rogle in the Swedish Hockey League, the top professional men's league in Sweden.
Tyler Brennan of Prince George of the WHL is No. 1 among North American goalies and Topias Leinonen of JYP's team in Finland's junior league tops the International goalie ranking, but neither is likely to be chosen in the first round.
Odds to win the 2022 NHL Draft Lottery:
1. Montreal Canadiens, 18.5 percent
2. Arizona Coyotes, 13.5 percent
3. Seattle Kraken, 11.5 percent
4. Philadelphia Flyers, 9.5 percent
5. New Jersey Devils, 8.5 percent
6. Chicago Blackhawks, 7.5 percent
7. Ottawa Senators, 6.5 percent
8. Detroit Red Wings, 6.0 percent
9. Buffalo Sabres, 5.0 percent
10. Anaheim Ducks, 3.5 percent
11. San Jose Sharks, 3.0 percent
12. Columbus Blue Jackets, 2.5 percent
13. New York Islanders, 2.0 percent
14. Winnipeg Jets, 1.5 percent
15. Vancouver Canucks, 0.5 percent
16. Vegas Golden Knights, 0.5 percent
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